Personally, I feel it is essential for bloggers to track the activity on
their blogs. You can make use of a web analytics tool, but it takes sometime
to navigate through all the reports. That is where a plugin will be handy.
The WordPress.com Stats plugin is a big help in this regard. Instead of
using another application, you can keep track of your blog's stats directly
from your WordPress dashboard.
2. WP-Polls
It is a well-known fact that people like to participate in polls. There are
options available to you on the internet, but the WP-Polls plugin will allow
you to create custom polls on your WordPress dashboard. You do not have to
leave your account to log into another site to manage it. This is only if
you want to make use of polls.
3. Sociable
This plugin automatically add links to your favorite social bookmarking
sites on your posts, pages and in your RSS feed. You can choose from 99
different social bookmarking sites.
4. Akismet
It is very important to activate your Akismet plugin on your blog. It is a
fact that blogs unfortunately get comments that are spam. This plugin checks
your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam
or not and lets you review the spam it catches under your blog's "comments"
admin screen. Your readers do not like to see spam comments. This can easily
result in a decrease of your traffic. I cannot stress this enough, please
make sure you are using a plugin like Akismet. This WordPress plugin will
save you time.
5. Math Comment Spam
In the fast growing era of technology, it is unfortunately a fact that
comment spam blocking plugins like Akismet will not always be enough to
eliminate all spam comments. By using the Math Comment Spam plugin in
conjunction with the Akismet plugin, you will be able to decrease spam
comments. The Math Comment Spam plugin will ask readers a simple math
problem such as 2 x 3 before they can comment. This is to make sure that it
is a human comment.
6. Theme Tester
Editor's Note: The Theme Tester plugin may not work with newer versions of
WordPress. A good alternate plugin is Theme Test Drive which can be found
at: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/theme-test-drive/
It sometimes happens that bloggers want to change the WordPress theme. You
do not want your audience to see the changes until all is finished and
ready. This is where the Theme Tester plugin is of great help. Your readers
will see your existing design until all is set up and ready for publishing.
7. WP-Database Backup
I want you to read the following with attention! If your blog is important
to you, do yourself a big favor and install the WP-Database Backup plugin.
It is most crucial to have this plugin installed and set to back up your
WordPress database. This plugin will save the data on your hard drive or it
will be sent to you via email. The next important point I want to stress is
the following: Please keep in mind that this plugin makes a backup of your
database files only. Make sure to make a manual backup of your WordPress
content folder from your hosting account.
8. Easytube
This plugin will help you to get a YouTube or Google video published on your
blog. It easily makes embedding YouTube and Google videos into your post a
snap. Easytube also includes a preview image of your YouTube videos in the
RSS feed with a link to the video. If you want to make use of visual media,
it is essential to install this plugin.
9. Auto Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks
To reduce spam on older posts, you can make use of this plugin. Older posts
are targets for automated comment spam bots. After installing the plugin,
set the timeframe to a date when you want to close comments on your posts.
10. Google Maps Plugin
Editor's Note: The Google Maps plugin may not work with newer versions of
WordPress. A good alternate plugin is the Comprehensive Google Map plugin
which can be found at:
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/comprehensive-google-map-plugin/
This plugin speaks for itself. If you want to make use of maps from Google
to be part of your blog post, this plugin will assist you in the process of
creating, inserting and customizing it. This WordPress plugin will
definitely save you time.
I really hope these 10 WordPress plugins will save you time and make
blogging a treat. Make use of them and enjoy your blogging!
Website: http://www.webcraft.ws
E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws
Twitter: WebcraftGuru
Facebook: Webcraft Guru
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